


Family

by notcrindy



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, IPRE as an X-Men sort of situation i guess?, Multi, big shrug, but this AU is real now oops, found family stuff, oh lord everyone says not another TAZ AU, please don't tell me i am fucking w the X-Men universe i know like nothing about it, yes another TAZ AU and this one has superpowers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-02-09 09:16:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12884766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notcrindy/pseuds/notcrindy
Summary: Lup loses family and finds a new one.Taako loses family and they find him.(Or We're Trying to Help You, Taako, You Superpowered Idiot!: The AU.)





	1. Chapter 1

On Taako and Lup’s twelfth birthday, she burns down the house.

She doesn’t _mean_ to do it, obviously. She’s a lot younger than any human might expect at twelve, because elves age at a different rate. Of course, she doesn’t know how to stop it once it happens, or how to control it or even expect it. As a teenager, she’ll feel wracked with guilt about it, and even as a child, it’s difficult not to relive the moment that exactly everything went to hell.

She remembers the little details especially vividly. She remembers Tia Tilla’s colorful dress, red as a fire engine, swirling in all directions as she danced. She remembers the piñata and the mad dash for candy. She remembers the cake and how Tia let them both eat their fair share of frosting beforehand, and how both of them managed not to get sick and even crave more sugar afterward (the little miracles of childhood, ha). She remembers Taako’s elbow in her face, which is probably the second most unpleasant thing about this memory, and she remembers fighting over who got to blow out the candles.

Naturally, Lup was the first one to get there. Sometimes she feels like she can still remember, with a striking vividness, the way it felt to have all of her years laid out before her and marked by flame. She remembers so well the way she felt when told to close her eyes, make a wish, and extinguish that same flame and how _wrong_ it felt to her. She remembers trying, anyway, taking a deep breath in and blowing out the candles, and she remembers the way they sprung to life again as though nothing had happened. She remembers trying again, maybe at least two more times, and Taako trying to butt in and blow out the candles instead.

Around this point, the memories get a little hazy. She knows, though, that the fire climbs too high. The cake is lost in the flames, and it doesn’t stop there. It doesn’t stop at all until she’s finding herself wandering in a daze amongst the rubble, calling out for any of her relatives as tears roll down her face, and her twin is the one who emerges from the smoke and tugs on her hand.

After that, it’s just running until they get separated.

Of course they do, just briefly, in a crowd of people, and that’s all it takes for them to find her. That’s all it takes for her to get spooked and watch as flame rises up and out of the palms of her hands again, and that’s all for her to start _screaming._ They reassure her that they’re good people, really, and they search for Taako but he doesn’t turn up. They take her in and at first, she’s terrified, nearly lighting the place on fire the moment she steps foot onto the premises, but she’s a scared kid without any money and family and she’s got a roof under her head now so there’s not much to be done. 

She soon finds that it’s not so bad there anyway. She’s free to study any subject she might want in school as often as she’d like to and she becomes book smart as well as street smart this way. She takes up the violin and somehow _doesn’t_ burn it to cinders whenever she feels too much about the music, and it becomes a terrific outlet of expression for her. The most compelling reason to stay, though, is that they try to teach her how to control it. They have special suits and equipment and surroundings so that she can try to learn _not_ to be afraid, and a dwarf named Merle Highchurch is the one who reassures her most often. He can regrow any plants she might accidentally burn down; he has a calm, easy way of speaking and cracks jokes that make her smile. With his guidance and at his insistence, she gets to know the others in the place.

She meets Magnus next. He’s a human about as young as she is, maybe even a little younger, who has super strength. He’s got the look and charm of a puppy with big paws just growing into himself, and he’s super lanky and bigger than he knows, but his smiles are so friendly. He’s not at all intimidated by her weird fire shit, and in fact calls it “ _awesome,_ Lup” on more than one occasion. She starts practicing a lot with him, and they get almost reckless during any kind of play time. Merle tries to remind them not to roughhouse, and that it’d be pretty cool if Lup didn’t set fire to the schoolyard, and that even though their powers _are_ supernatural they can still hurt each other, you know.

“Fat _chance,_ Merle,” Lup grins as she spits blood and a tooth out of her mouth. “Magsy can barely lay a scratch on me.”

“Looks like I’ve already laid a decent few on you already,” he retorts, also grinning.

“‘Zat what you think?” She rises, mouth stinging something awful. “Then I’m concerned that’s the best you _got,_ tough guy.”

“Wanna find out?” He’s already getting into fighting stance.

“Enough _talkin’,_ Maggo. More punches.”

“You got it, Lup.” 

As Magnus rushes for her again and she darts quickly out of the way, a fireball sparking to life in her hands, Merle sighs and rubs his temples. She has no way of verifying this, but Lup’s pretty sure that the old man secretly loves these little matches and they bring some excitement to him on the daily. Mostly ‘cuz if Merle weren’t into it at _all,_ there probably wouldn’t be any opportunities for this kind of shit to happen, and the guy’s _gotta_ admit that the both of them liven up the place.

He gets a few burns that day; that tooth is one of her fronts and never quite grows back. They’re even, though, and good sports about it even when they get hurt. The years turn Lup into something of an adrenaline junkie, prob ‘cuz she for sure knows that chaos is gonna follow her everywhere, so she might as well enjoy herself. She suspects it’s the same for her playmate. On the rare occasions that Magnus is subjected to the dreaded homework, she helps him out, ‘cuz the boy’s got a shorter attention span for stuff that’s not physical than she does. They’re united in their desire to watch everything crumble, but they’re both adamant that they’re Good Guys, and it keeps Merle from getting too nervous.

She meets Barry shortly after. He looks like your typical nerd, adhering more strictly to the school dress code and red jacket than Magnus does, only he’s wearing denim. He keeps to himself a lot, real quiet type, but his laptop is some pretty sweet stuff, and one day she finds an excuse to talk to him ‘cuz he drops his glasses in the library.

His fingers fumble for them so frantically automatically, and he looks so panicked for someone who’s just done a pretty typical thing and dropped his glasses on the floor. She’s quick to locate ‘em and grab ‘em for him and then she leans over near his spot at the table, dangling them in front of him.

“These yours, nerd?” They are. She knows.

“Oh, _fuck,_ um,” is the surprising response that comes tumbling out of his mouth. Coupled with the gravelly accent, it’s even more unexpected. “I mean, uh, yeah, sorry, those are mine.”

She laughs. “Wow, you got more of a sailor mouth on you than I thought you would, Wonder Bread. What you in here for, anyway? You seem so _normal._ Never see you out brawlin’ with me ‘n’ Mags.” Come to think of it, she doesn’t think she’s ever seen him outside period.

He flinches away from her. “Uh, sorry, but I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Fuck, she feels like such a jackass already. “Um, okay. That’s cool. I was just makin’ small talk’s all, but I’ll stop dickin’ around. Here’s your specs.”

When she goes to hand ‘em over, he flinches away even _worse,_ and by this point, she’s feeling real awful. “What’s wrong? Scared of fire? It’s the fire, huh. I’m gettin’ a lot better controlling it if that makes you feel better. Up ‘til last month I wasn’t even allowed in here with all the books, y’know? Just recently granted access.”

She tries smiling at him, but he’s avoiding eye contact.

“I won’t, like, bite or whatever. Swear.”

“Aw, shit, no,” he babbles, risking a glance at her. “It’s nothin’ like that. In fact, I uh,” he plucks his glasses delicately out of her hand and pushes them back up on the bridge of his nose. “I’ve um, seen you fight out there. It’s really goddamn impressive, actually. You look real, um… ...graceful out there, if I’m being honest.”

Okay, well _that_ makes her feel better at least. Maybe even a little flattered. “No shit!” She sits with her arms sprawled lazily over the back of the chair, leaning in to get a better look at this guy. “Well, _that’s_ good. ‘Least you know a fighter when you see one, huh?”

“Hah.” She feels strangely glad to get a laugh out of this dork. “Yeah, I guess. No, your power is… ...really cool. I kinda wish mine were more like that.”

“Yeah, I don’t blame you,” she says somewhat awkwardly. “Mine’s pretty sick. Look, I know you don’t wanna talk about yours right now and that’s cool, but if you ever need to, my door’s open. You gotta keep in mind we _all_ got sob stories, you know? Don’t think there’s anyone in the place without some dramatic shit, ‘cept maybe ol’ Merle. And I dunno _what_ his deal is.”

“Yeah,” he mumbles. “I mean, I… ...guess it would feel nice to tell somebody. That’s _not_ Merle, I mean, ‘cuz he had to know. But I dunno.”

“If it makes you feel better,” she says, “I’ll go first.”

“I’ve seen yours, though.”

“Yeah, but it’s all about the _story,_ right? So how about we trade? I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours. Maybe it’ll make you feel better.”

“Oh, no. You don’t _have_ to do that,” he stammers.

“I _want_ to, though. So you wanna shake on it? I’m Lup, by the way.” She’s holding her hand out, and this time he doesn’t seem allergic to her touch.

To his credit, he actually shakes her hand this time. “Yeah, okay. Hi, Lup. I’m… ...uh, Barry.”

“Nice to meet you, ‘uh, Barry,’” she teases. He blushes just a little.

Then they get down to business.

For the first little while, Lup couldn’t possibly tell her story without feeling too much. Every retelling was a new and old form of agony all wrapped up together and fire would announce its presence in her hands without fail, so she tried to learn to keep it all bottled up. But she’s found over time that it has less of an effect. By now, she can talk about things like the cake and the house and her aunt’s dress without too much emotion. Talking about Taako hurts, but he’s almost a distant memory. She feels smug every time she can reclaim it, just a little bit of that hurt from her past, and make it into a story with a good ending.

An ending where she found this place.

An ending where she lost one family to gain another one.

“Holy _shit,_ Lup,” he gasps still. “I’m so sorry about your family.”

“Don’t even sweat it,” she dismisses him with a handwave. “I mean, yeah, it _sucks_ for sure, but the goons ‘round this place are my family now. I was real lucky they took me in.”

“Me too,” says Barry softly.

“Yeah?” She sees the pain in his eyes. “So um… ...wanna hold up your end of the bargain? Need to get anything off your chest, or anything…?” Lup doesn’t wanna pry, ‘specially not about other people’s personal biz, but this dweeb is so wound up she can practically feel it from where she’s sitting, and she’s never met someone so uptight before. It probably _would_ make him feel a lot better to get stuff off his chest.

He sighs heavily. “Yeah, okay. I guess it’s only fair.”

“Sweet.” She’s trying to come off as nonchalant as possible, but it’s hard for her not to be curious about what might come next, drumming her fingers on the back of the chair.

“I…” He trails off. “You’re not gonna tell anybody about this, are you?”

She scoffs. “Obviously not, dude. Who’m I gonna tell? _Magnus?_ Love the boy for sure but he’s not the brightest bulb, you know?”

“And this isn’t gonna change… ...how you view me or anything.”

“Barry, trust that I’m trying to be as sweet as possible when I say I’ve only ever seen you around typing on your little nerd box. I mean, it’s _fine_ ‘n’ all, nothin’ wrong with bein’ that type of dude. But like, what kind of huge impact is this gonna have on my opinion of you already?”

“Fair point,” he mumbles sheepishly, turning slightly red and looking at the table. “Um, okay then. Here goes.”

She’s unable to stop herself from leaning forward in anticipation.

“I, uh… ...woo, boy. I’ve never had to say this out loud before.”

“Take all the time you need,” she reassures him even as she’s dying to know.

“Okay. I, um…” He’s focusing intently on the table and away from her. “I, uh. I can raise the dead.”

A full moment ticks by as she processes the words, and before she can help herself, she’s bursting out into laughter. “Holy _fuck,_ that’s _hilarious!_ ”

“I… ...um. What?” Dude has a real commitment to playing the straight man, she’ll give him that much.

“Oh, man, you really got me _good,_ ” she’s cackling. “That’s a real good one, Barry. I didn’t see that punchline _coming!_ Hey, though, gotta keep those goofs coming somehow, am I right? So really, what’re you in for? Technomancy or some shit?”

Lup wipes a tear from her eyes, then looks at his face, which is beet red.

“Uh… ...no. Look, I… I knew this was a mistake. I shouldn’t’ve thought you’d get it, I mean. That’s on me, I guess.” He’s still blushing something awful as he starts packing up his laptop and charger. “Sorry for wasting your time.”

It starts to dawn on her. “Oh, fuck, wait. Barry, dude. You’re _serious?_ ”

“Would _you_ joke about somethin’ like that, Lup?” He’s still gathering his stuff up to leave.

“I mean, yeah, probably,” she admits. “But that’s ‘cuz I’m an asshole.”

Barry gets up to leave, but she grabs onto his arm just a little.

“Look, Barry, I’m _sorry._ Don’t leave! If I knew you were bein’ real, I never would’ve laughed. You just, uh,” and she’s _trying_ to be delicate about this, she really is. “You don’t, uh, ‘xactly seem like the type to be pullin’ that spooky zombie shit, y’know? I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“‘Spooky zombie shit,’” he says in that gruff and serious voice he has, and it cracks a little in that teen boy way that might make her giggle, but she’s not gonna test it. He chuckles a little, though, and even cracks a smile at her. “I guess that’s one way of putting it, yeah. I… I know it’s surprising, believe me.”

“Well, no shit, man,” she says, and when she realizes how blunt she’s being she tries to take it down a notch. “You’d know better’n anybody. But uh, look. Obviously, you’re not so cool about being able to do this, which is weird to _me_ ‘cuz I think it sounds pretty frickin’ rad, but like… ...you don’t have to be, y’know? I’m havin’ a good time just chattin’ here. If you wanna keep doin’ that, we don’t have to touch on you being able to reenact the ‘Thriller’ video or whatever.”

He can’t keep himself from laughing again, though. “Is that what you’d do? Reenact ‘Thriller?’”

“Oh, c’mon. Like it hasn’t even occurred to you to _try._ ”

“Uh, no it hasn’t, actually.” He’s wringing his hands, looking so nervous still. “I can _raise_ the dead, you know, but I… I’m not so good at controlling that. Or, well, them.”

“Aww, man. That sucks.” She pats him on the shoulder without even thinking about it. “If it makes you feel any better, I believe in your future zombie army.”

“Thanks, I guess?”

“No prob, dude. I’m… ...guessing shit didn’t go so good for you in the past, am I right on that?” She’s still trying to be careful, ready to drop anything that he’s not ready to talk about and forget about it if she has to.

He takes a deep breath in. “Unfortunately, yeah. Hits the nail right on the head. _My_ family? They uh, don’t even want to talk to me. I’m real glad this place took me.”

“Aw, shit, dude. I’m… I’m real sorry. That bites.”

“It’s fine,” he murmurs. “Uh, thanks for talkin’ to me about it.”

“Hey, it’s no problem!” She smiles widely at him and he’s blushing again. “I do have one thing to ask you, though. Wanna join our study group? It’s just me ‘n’ Mags right now, but we could probably use someone with your brains ‘n’ technological know-how. Promise I won’t tell ‘im ‘bout your secret zombie powers.”

“What, really? Uh… ...okay, sure.”

So Barry starts showing up for the study group. This makes it a much more _legit_ study group, which Magnus isn’t so into, but he’s way into teaching them book smarts in a way they can understand (and he’s real patient when it takes Mags a few tries to grasp somethin’). She starts spending a lot more lunches inside with him instead of outside throwin’ fireballs at Mags’s head, which is also probably a lot better for everyone’s overall well-being (and a load off of ol’ Highchurch’s mind). They get into a sort of groove, lounging around.

Magnus teases her constantly now, though. “Lup, don’t look now, but here comes _Barry._ ”

When he makes that stupid kissy face, she elbows him real good in the ribs.

“Ow! What was _that_ for?”

“I’m not gonna break all the bones in your body if I do it, so I’m entitled,” she says. “Also, don’t be an idiot. It’s not like that.”

“Isn’t it? _Lup_ and _Barry,_ sittin’ in a _tree_ \--”

“Someone say somethin’ ‘bout a tree?” There’s Merle, ready to pop up and scare the actual _shit_ out of her, and she yelps as a little bit of fire flares up in her hands.

“Oh my _god,_ ” she gasps. “Merle, you _asshole._ I could’ve burnt your eyebrows clean off your face.”

He’s chuckling pretty damn good, though. “What? You kids should know by now. Botany’s my business.”

“Yeah, sure, old man,” she grumbles. “You keep telling yourself that.”

“I will,” he says merrily.

Lup’s so preoccupied that when she runs into the latest newcomer at the school, she’s barely even paying attention.

“Oh, goodness,” a soft voice says. “I’m so sorry.”

“Why _should_ you be? I’m the one who wasn’t watching where I was going.”

That’s the exact moment Lup meets the only other girl in school. She’s human, too, and walking along with some gnome Lup’s also never seen before. They do the usual cliche thing where she picks up the girl’s books, apologizing profusely, and the other girl apologizes for bumping into her even worse. When they touch hands, it’s tough for Lup not to feel a flush in her cheeks, because this girl is the prettiest person she’s ever seen in her entire life.

She’s good at masking that with enough of a loud mouth that the girl maybe doesn’t notice, though. She has such a proper, elegant, prissy sort of voice that Lup thinks she’s only ever heard before in the movies, and some of the books she’s carrying fall under the genre of “Stuff Magnus Wouldn’t Touch with a Nine and a Half Foot Pole,” which is always kind of intriguing. Also, her blue lipstick is sort of kind of out of this world and nicely complements her clothes and her eyes.

Naturally, she’s quick to invite the nerd to join the study group. Her name’s Lucretia, which is about sort of the upscale name Lup would expect of a lady like this. She keeps to herself a lot, barely even speaking up in meetings, but damn if she isn’t handy at explaining shit to the rest of the goofs in the group. Never writes stuff down, though. Always does her math in her head, explains her projects and such orally at the front of the class (which has gotta be hard for someone so shy), and Lup can’t help but wonder about it eventually.

Especially when she notices that _some_ of the books Lucretia is carrying aren’t from the library after all. It’s weirdly hard for her to focus on those for some reason, and every time she does some weird static fills her brain and makes her thoughts all fuzzy, but she’s pretty sure Lucretia’s written some of this stuff by hand. When it’s just them girls (plus Davenport, the gnome, who has a sort of hauntingly vacant stare and is always getting looked after by Lu), Lup finally works up the nerve to ask her about it.

“So, uh, I’ve just been wonderin’,” she tries to bring up casually one day. “Uh, what exactly brings you to this place, Lucy?”

“Hmm?” She’s busy straightening Davenport’s bowtie. “Yes, _there_ you are. Very handsome.”

Davenport nearly looks right through her, repeating his own name as always.

“I mean, we’ve all got reasons to be here.” Ugh, she sounds so awkward. It’s appalling. “Some kind of… ... _somethin’_... ...that makes us different. And I kinda doubt yours is just hanging around with a gnome all the time, right?”

“Davenport,” says Davenport.

“Exactly,” says Lup. “So like, I mean… ...what’s your story, sis?”

Lucretia freezes up pretty much immediately. It makes Lup wanna drop it, but strangely enough, the girl _does_ open up to her after a little bit of hesitance. She confesses something pretty big.

“Well, um. I suppose it had to come up eventually. Whatever I write down is instantly forgotten by everyone. That is, um. Everyone but me.”

“What? Prove it,” Lup blurts with more bluntness than usual. “Uh, fuck. I mean, you don’t have to, I trust that, it’s just… ...damn, girl. That’s fucking heavy.”

“Right?” She smiles wistfully. “It’s fine, though. I don’t mind… ...sharing. Kind of a relief, actually. Um, think of a number between one and ten, then tell me what it is and I’ll write it down.”

Hell, yeah. This is the kind of intrigue Lup signed up for (she didn’t sign up at all, but whatev). “Okay, um. ...Seven.”

“Seven. Good one. Now keep that in mind, that you told me seven, okay? You can watch me write it down if it helps you.”

So Lup tries. She sees the fluid, beautiful and effortless way Lucretia has with a pen, and she can tell that the girl loves writing shit down. There’s just a kind of elegance to the words she pens, which Lup tries her hardest to understand are “Lup picked seven out of ten,” and when the words all jumble themselves up and her head fills with static, she’s disoriented and frustrated.

“Holy shit,” she gasps. “What? _Ugh._ ”

“Lup, what number did you pick?”

“I picked a number already?” She blinks.

“That’s right,” Lucretia says patiently. “What one was it?”

Lup tries her hardest to search her memory bank for this incredibly basic info, but every time she tries, the sickening static rings in her head and her ears. “Ugh, I… I don’t remember, Lucy. I… I can’t even think about it. Makes me sick.”

“There you go,” Lucretia says quietly, putting down the pen.

The nausea and static stop the instant Lup stops thinking about it, and the instant she watches the pen hit the table. “Holy _fuck,_ girl. That’s some… ...that’s some fucked up shit.”

Lucretia smiles sadly, her eyes slightly far away. “Isn’t it? Davenport was my first, um… ...he was the first person to… ...fall prey to this.”

“ _Oh,_ ” Lup gasps. “Damn.”

“Yes,” Lucretia murmurs. “Damn indeed.”

“Davenport,” Davenport confirms.

After that, Lup doesn’t bring it up again. She even promises not to tell anyone, and even though it would be easy to make a joke about Lucretia being able to make her forget anyways, she’s not that much of a dick. It’s clearly a sensitive subject and Lucretia clearly loves writing, which makes it even more of a load of shit. It’s this secret they keep between just them.

Pretty soon, their company isn’t only shared when they study. Sometimes they all eat inside at the library, but they hang around outside a lot too. Lucretia _loves_ Merle for all the ways he’s helped her, so evidently roughhousing’s dead as dust, but they find other ways to pass the time. It isn’t actually that long before they all become thick as thieves in this, the only place that will accept them.

They do sometimes venture outside of school grounds, of course. Nobody who’s not a freak like them is gonna mess with them without a death wish, and sometimes Merle takes them all on little field trips to see various shit about town. Lup can’t help but feel uneasy every time, though, and she clearly isn’t the only one. Barry sticks close to her like glue, counting on her to ground him enough not to raise some dead as a doornail rando.

Still, the strangest day of all is one where they’re just sitting around in the rec room watching the tube. Well, Mags is watching TV, anyhow. Barry’s typing away at his laptop for some nerdy reason or another, Lucretia is quietly reading in the corner, and Lup’s listening to music with some headphones on, some fun poppy nonsense.

That’s why she doesn’t understand it when Magnus rushes over to her, mouthing some important stuff and pointing frantically at the TV. “What’s up, Mags?”

She doesn’t have to take the headphones off to know, though.

Her brother’s on TV.

“Oh, shit,” she mumbles, dropping her MP3 player and letting the headphones slide off her ears. No one else is responding at all, all of them transfixed and paying close attention to the TV. Everything feels surreal and strange as the news anchor rambles on about some incident in some nearby town and 40 people dead, and how Taako is under investigation.

She watches the footage, which the woman on TV warns is “hard to believe,” and sees her brother transforming food. She’s never known him to be capable of anything like that, but it’s undeniably him turning water into wine and bread into eggs and eggs into a chicken that walks offstage. He’s dressed in the fanciest bullshit she’s ever seen anyone wear, makeup coating every inch of his face, and his hair’s too fucking long now. He assures the entire audience that none of it’s a trick; he’s just that talented, and he takes a huge bow as he transforms ingredients as he needs them, making some fancy cake in the end.

There’s uproarious applause in the footage, but when they’re done showing that, some news people argue amongst themselves about whether or not Taako _meant_ to poison all of those people. What’s more, they wonder, does intent even _matter_ in this situation? Mutants have been a point of controversy for a long while now, and it might be best for someone to put a stop to his abilities whether he meant to or not.

She feels numb and sick by the end of the segment, and apparently, she’s collapsed to the floor. Everyone runs to her side to help her back up (even Davenport looks concerned, in his own way), and she stares at the TV for a long while even as they go back to some irrelevant bullshit.

“Lup,” Barry is saying. “You okay?”

“Shit,” Magnus frets. “I shouldn’t’ve _said_ anything. What do we do?”

“Give her space, perhaps,” Lucretia says, and they all take a step back.

After she’s been given a second to collect herself though, and they’ve turned the goddamn TV off, she actually slips her red jacket on and starts stuffing a few essentials in a bag, so involved that she’s not really paying attention to the others around her.

“Lup, what’re you doing? Where are you going?”

“Where else? To rescue my brother. Anyone wanna come with?”

Everyone does, and Lup knows it for sure right then.

She has the best fake family ever.


	2. Chapter 2

They may be the best fake family ever, but they  _ really _ need to work on their stealth mode.

It’s past midnight now, and they’ve pretty much all shoved various shit into backpacks and started to hit the road. Lup is leader of the pack, obviously, and she feels like a shepherd herding her flock as she ushers everyone out the door ASAP. She notices everyone’s luggage as they go past her and out the door. Barry is the first one out, sporting a practical denim backpack that she’d bet has his nerd laptop in it. Lucretia is actually the next to follow, traveling light but carrying luggage for both herself and Davenport, who trails behind her faithfully. Even her bags look elegant and wicked expensive, Lup marvels. She waits patiently for Mags last, surprised he hasn’t just about bowled everyone else over in an attempt to rush out.

When something far behind everyone else  _ CLUNKS _ and  _ SCRAPES, _ she turns her head sharply towards the source of the noise and hisses. “Mags, what the hell are you  _ doing?!  _ You’re gonna get us  _ caught…!!” _

“Sorry, Lup,” he whispers in apology, but even his whisper is too loud. “I’ll be right there, I promise!”

_ CLUNK,  _ scrape…  _ CLUNK,  _ scrape…

“Maggie,” she hisses again. “What the fuck’s in the  _ bags, _ bro?”

“Just the essentials,” he reassures her. “Shit we’re gonna  _ really _ need, I swear!”

“Well, hurry up ‘n’ get that shit over here before Merle hands our asses to us on a silver platter, okay?”

“I’m  _ trying!! _ ”

_ CLUNK,  _ scrape…  _ CLUNK,  _ scrape…

Just like that, it dawns on her what he’s trying to bring, and Lup stares stone-faced out into the darkness. “Magnus, you  _ idiot, _ ” she groans, “you don’t need to bring your goddamn  _ axe…!! _ ”

“I do  _ so, _ ” he insists.

“You  _ don’t, _ ” Lup hisses back. “Now ditch the heavy weaponry and get your ass over here or I’m leaving without you…!!”

“He’s bringing his  _ axe? _ ” Barry asks, peeking his head back in.

“He’s bringing his axe,” Lucretia repeats, tone flat. “Oh, dear.”

“He’s  _ not _ bringing his axe,” Lup reassures the rest of the group. “Trust me.”

“Why not?” Thanks to the abilities and general badassery of elven eyes, Lup can see  _ exactly _ how crestfallen Magnus looks, his face pathetic and pitiful. “What if we  _ need _ it?”

“We won’t  _ need _ it, Mags.”

“But what if--”

“Maggo, m’boy, you  _ know _ I love you,” Lup says as gently as possible. She’s not a gentle person, so it doesn’t really land, but to her credit she really tries. “Like a brother, right? I mean, we were the first ones here other than ol’ Highchurch, right? We’re ride or die.”

He’s sporting a childish pout. “...Yeah…”

“Yeah,” she reaffirms. “So trust me. We’re a bunch of superpowered hormonally charged teens, okay? Anyone who fucks with us has got like, a mega deathwish. You  _ don’t _ need to bring your axe.”

This gets him to finally see reason, and she sighs in relief when he sees her point. “Yeah,” he agrees reluctantly, still giving her the most irresistible puppy eyes she’s ever goddamn seen. “Yeah, okay.” He drops the axe with a cringeworthy  _ thud _ and Lup winces, certain that if Merle doesn’t catch them by  _ now, _ the old boy should get his hearing checked. He takes everything else along, though, load much lighter now.

“Okay.” Lup breathes a sigh of relief. “Has everybody got everything?”

“Well,” a voice sounds from the darkness, “you  _ are _ missin’ somethin’.”

Just like that, Lup’s blood turns cold.  _ Aw, shit. _ She knew they couldn’t get away with it as long as Magsy was making noise like that, and she gives him a nice elbow in the ribs and a look of frustration so he knows how bad he’s just goofed. Out of the shadows steps Merle Highchurch, as aware as he’s ever been and wise to all of their shenanigans, and she’s all set to murmur some half-hearted apologies and then head up to bed.

“Me,” he whispers at the group of dumbstruck teens. “You’re missing  _ me. _ ”

Lup blinks, trying to process this, and from the looks on everyone’s faces, it seems like they’re all in the same boat. “I’m not… ...in trouble?”

“‘Course not, kid,” Merle says as though it’s obvious and simple. “Couldn’t ever fault you for wanting to go after one of your own.”

“You heard about my brother,” Lup hazards a guess.

Highchurch gets that playful glint in his eye. “ _ Heard _ about ‘im? Don’t be silly. I saw ‘im on the news same as all of you, though. That boy’s in  _ quite _ the predicament now, isn’t he?”

Just like that, Lup’s too overcome with emotions to stop herself. “Yeah,” she babbles, “he is, and look--I know the world outside of here is dangerous for freaks like us. I get it. Taako’s just made himself example number one of shit like that, but he’s my  _ brother, _ Merle.”

“Lup.”

“My twin  _ brother, _ Merle. I can’t just stay here and  _ study _ knowing my brother is out there in trouble!”

“ _ Lup. _ ”

“Yeah,” she snaps, a little bit of fire flaring to life in her hands. “Well, fuck you  _ too _ then, old man! I knew you wouldn’t get it; you  _ never _ get it, you’ve never had a twin in your whole--”

“Lup, calm down! I  _ agree _ with you.”

The fire dies down instantly. “Huh?” She… ...wasn’t expecting that.

“What’s happening to your brother out there right now  _ sucks, _ Lup. You’re  _ right _ about that, and I’m glad you can recognize when shit stinks, at least. It sucks, and sure, your ol’ pal Merle’s not exactly  _ hip _ , but I’m not about to stop you. I wanna  _ help _ you. Think about it, guys--weren’t you all just as scared and down on your luck as Taako is now when I picked you all up ‘n’ took you in?”

This is definitely true, at least. Everyone has their own story and reason for being here, but none of them are happy or too glamorous, and Merle is the savior of pretty much everyone in this ragtag group of misfits. Lup thinks back to how scared she was back when Merle found her, fire flaring to life in her hands without any control, and thinks of how much she’s improved since then. She slipped up a little during her emotional rant there, sure, but otherwise, she’s doing a great job these days of controlling it. She can play the violin without the thing burning to ashes in her hands; she can read books without being a walking fire hazard; she can focus on normal and regular kidstuff for the most part, and it’s all thanks to Merle.

Now that Lup’s thinking about it,  _ really _ thinking about it, she’s embarrassed that she ever thought Merle wouldn’t be totally for this in the first place. “You’re gonna help me rescue my brother,” she realizes, verbalizing it out loud and looking at him.

The dwarf nods serenely, pushing his little specs up on his face and smiling. “Yup.”

“Oh.” Suddenly her eyes are filled to the brim with tears, and she can’t stop herself from going over and nearly crushing the life out of him with a hug that would maybe even put Magnus’s hugs to shame. “Oh,  _ thank you, _ Merle…!! Oh, thank  _ god. _ I mean, I was gonna bolt in the night but I was actually pretty scared to do it. Like, don’t get me wrong, I  _ totally _ would’ve done it in a heartbeat though, but Magnus was like trying to bring an axe along like a complete  _ dumbass _ \--”

“Hey!” Magnus huffs. “It… ...it could’ve been  _ useful. _ ”

“--and people out there already think of us as so ultra ooky spooky scary, right? But they also like--Merle--” She’s trying to wipe her tears, but more keep coming, and she tries to stare seriously into his eyes but she’s too dang emotional. “Merle, they  _ wicked _ hate us out there, like, they super wicked  _ hate _ us. I saw the way they were talking about my brother, and whether or not it was his fault that all those people died, and even if it  _ wasn’t _ it sorta was ‘cuz he’s a mutant, and like--Merle, they hate us. They hate us  _ so much _ and I was so  _ scared _ to face that all by myself. I’m just a kid.”

Now Merle’s face is serious and somber as he matches her super strong hug with something warm and gentle. “I know, kiddo. I know. You are, and it’s not fair the way they treat us. They’re just scared, is all.”

“ _ Why? _ I try so hard not to hurt  _ anyone-- _ ”

“I know, Lup. I know.”

“Everyone here tries so hard to be  _ normal _ \--”

“I know. Shh.”

“But we’re never gonna be normal, are we,” she realizes, tears still spilling.

“Normal’s overrated, Lup,” Merle advises her. “You  _ know _ that. But listen--this is exactly why I’m  _ glad _ you guys didn’t go without me. Without you kids, who does Merle have to teach anyway, huh? Did you think about that? You were ‘bout to leave me lonely.”

All of them look profoundly guilty all at the same time, staring at the ground or at their shoes. “Sorry, Merle,” they all apologize in unison.

“Aw, psh,” Merle waves. “It’s all forgiven. So long as you let me in on this plan of yours. I can’t very well plan a field trip if I dunno where we’re goin’, huh?”

After Lup’s thanked him again another gazillion times, he goes through everyone’s bags to make sure everyone’s properly packed. A few kids forgot their toothbrushes, some extra changes of clothes, and Magnus’s is just packed to the brim with all sorts of impractical shit. Once he’s made sure they’re all set, though, they’re ready to go, and he guides them all to the bus stop late at night.

Lup feels a curious mix of excitement and nerves as she becomes hyperaware of the world around them. She’s always been outside during the daytime, never at night, and the world is so much quieter this way. Merle advises the group to be on their best behavior (like they wouldn’t be) and to be as silent and soft as possible as they approach the bus stop and wait there. It’s during this wait that Lup becomes aware of fingers interlaced with her own, and she would blush about it, but Barry looks so on edge.

“Hey, uh,” she whispers, “you doin’ okay, Bluejeans?”

“What? Oh, uh,” he stammers, “uh, yeah. No problems here, Lup.”

She smiles at him with sympathy. “Scared you’re gonna raise a dead guy?”

He pushes his glasses up a little, fidgeting nervously. “I mean, the nearest graveyard is a little  _ too _ near if you ask me. But also, I… ...I mean, I’m totally ready to go get your brother. Please don’t get me wrong about that. I--I’m definitely excited--well, maybe excited is the wrong word. But I’m  _ ready. _ ”

“Yeah?” She’s so charmed by the nerdy way he rambles about everything, palms clammy and cold against her own warm hands.

“Y-Yeah!” He insists. “O-Of course, but uh, y’see… ...I’m sure you’ve picked up on this by now, but…” He sighs heavily, too heavily for someone their age, and she looks at him with concern. “...I’m  _ really _ socially awkward."

“No kidding?”

“Lup, I’m  _ serious. _ ”

She laughs anyway. “Sorry. That’s just like--that’s like saying the sky is blue, Barry. Or your jeans! What’s your point?”

“Well, I just can’t help but worry,” he fidgets, shifting his weight slightly and inhaling a little. “What if… ...what if he doesn’t  _ like _ me?”

“Then I’ll kick his ass,” Lup murmurs without even thinking about it. “Little twerp won’t even know what hit ‘im.” She realizes this could be taken as not really the most serious comment in the world. “Uh, sorry. Just… ...who wouldn’t like you, you know? You’re  _ Barry Bluejeans. _ ” To her, it’s a fact. The grass is green, Barry is inherently loveable, end of story.

“I’m a weird nerd,” he stammers, averting his gaze. “Not even my family likes me, and I raise the dead.”

Her heart breaks for him in that moment, just like it’s broken for probably everyone there about a gazillion times, and she holds his hand but she becomes uncomfortably aware of how much she’d just love to hold  _ him, _ to just let him know that everything’s gonna be okay. “Well,” she says after a moment, not nearly as eloquent as she’d like to be about her feelings, “well, your family can  _ blow _ me, okay? Raising the dead is rad as fuck. And… ...and so are you. I  _ like _ that you’re a weird nerd. I don’t want you to be anything else, and you know what? I’m twins with Taako. I’ve seen enough sci-fi to know that means we basically share a brain.”

He laughs, just a little. She’s glad to make him smile. His teeth are so white and pretty, um.

“So I can say one  _ hundo _ percent, without a shadow of a doubt, that there’s  _ no way _ my brother isn’t gonna like you. Trust me. It’ll be just fine, okay? And if nothing else, we have each other.”

“We always have that, huh?” He stammers.

“Absolutely.”

Not that she like, has a  _ thing _ for him or anything, but she could get lost in those blue eyes of his forever. They make eye contact for a brief period of time and she can’t stop thinking about how gorgeous those peepers are, nearly taken aback by how lovely they are and feeling sorry for everyone who’s never taken a closer look. It takes Magnus being annoying, as usual, to break them apart.

“Hey, you  _ lovebirds!!  _ Bus is here!”

He snickers as they both move a little ways from each other, blushing. She’s gonna pound his stupid face into his--into his face. Ugh. “Okay, Mags,” she stammers, “the whole world can  _ hear _ you!”

He snorts as she elbows him on the way through the doors. Merle pays for everyone’s fare. A quick survey of the bus reveals a lot of people who are more invested in being quiet and staring out at nothing than anything else, which suits her fine. It’s interesting that, for the most part, right now… ...they’re all just regular kids with an old guy on a bus. No one knows that she’s a pyro, or that Mags could lift this whole bus over his head, or that Lucretia could make the bus driver forget how to drive if she wrote it down, or  _ anything. _ They’re up a lot later than kids like them are supposed to be, for sure, and she becomes aware of that when she notices Barry’s drifted off and is leaning against her shoulder, snoring softly.

She yawns, herself, and drapes a blanket she brought along over him. He looks so peaceful. Everyone is settling down for a long ride, but she can’t bring herself to shut her eyes, not yet. She has to know her brother is okay, first.

Then, she thinks, even as she leans against the window and listens to music through her earbuds…

...then she can rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bet you never thought i'd revive THIS thing, huh?? TOLD YOU IT WASN'T DEAD, GRACE. thank you all for being supportive. <3; love you!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw emetophobia for this chapter.

It starts the same way it always does.

They’re in a crowd of people; he can feel his hand intertwined with hers, holding on tight as he can because they’re all they have in this world. He always has to keep tugging her along, but gently, because she’s too quick to get distracted by day-to-day suffering. They’re still so small, and probably hungry, although he can’t remember a thing like hunger anymore. He just knows that he has her one moment and the next he doesn’t, and all it takes is a temporary lapse.

He hears her voice, of course he does. He’s a twin and an elf, so it’s not hard at all for his ears to perk up and his adrenaline to race and for him to hone in on the sound of her screaming. “ _Taako!!_ _Taako, where are you? Taako, help me!!_ ”

It’s not hard for him to locate her either, not in any one of the dreams. He never  _ truly _ loses her, not really, because she’s easy to track. He pushes his way desperately through a crowd of adults bigger than he is and somehow in more of a hurry, heart pounding and hands sticky with sweat and fear, but he gets there too late. He gets there just in time to watch the fire spring forth from her hands again, for him to get startled as much as he tries  _ not _ to and take an involuntary step back, for him to see her cornered and scared. If he were brave, and if this were any kind of dream he had any control over, he’d rush over to them and fight until he got her  _ back. _ If this  _ were _ a dream in the first place and not a memory, he’d fight until they were reunited.

But dreams, sometimes, are just memories rearranged.

Dreams, usually, are memories sold to you differently.

So of course he doesn’t get her back, not then and not now. He gets there just in time to see how they take her away, how tears are pouring down her cheeks and she’s so angry and afraid and alone, and then he doesn’t know what else to do. Doesn’t know who might be looking for  _ him, _ too, and is suddenly more alone than he’s been ever since he was born, so with the kind of instinct that propels a jackrabbit to zigzag away from a hawk, he  _ runs. _ He runs until his legs give out, but he doesn’t let anything else give up with them. He takes some time to grieve, of course, about until he realizes that if he doesn’t find work he’ll starve.

Taako always was the more practical of them, after all.

So he’s guided along by his own hazy memories, one of the only things he still holds sentiment for, and he takes up cooking. Starts out washing dishes in caravans, then starts to mimic what the chefs do, learning easily and quickly enough that he becomes an apprentice quite a few times. He learns to feel control in the kitchen where he might not feel it elsewhere, sticking like glue to culinary experts even when they might raise their hand to him or want him for his body, and he learns the value and weight of just a few gold pieces in his hand.

His first mishap is not in the kitchen at all, though. Not even in bed, which is the second likeliest place for him to be. No, he remembers it clearly and vividly because he’s been out on the road by himself for quite some time. He’s heading out to get something to eat with the few gold pieces he’s managed to earn in the past few weeks, relishing in the smooth feel of them against his fingers and the fact that he doesn’t have to swipe random shit from some vendor and run like hell. He remembers it so well, the way his chest puffed out slightly, the way he almost  _ liked _ it when men more than twice his age were gawking, the way he spoke with the confidence that came from earning his own form of currency.

He remembers the way he slid the coins across the counter.

“One taco,  _ por favor. _ ” He remembers.

“What is this, some kind of  _ joke? _ My food’s worth more than that, buddy.”

“Huh?”

“I dunno if this is what you brats these days call a  _ prank _ or what, but you better  _ scram. _ ”

He remembers blinking down in bewilderment at the gold pieces, only to find useless copper pennies in their place. He remembers thinking maybe he got duped by some form of slime out on the street, that it wouldn’t be so unheard of, and when it happens a second time he remembers he tracked the customer down, not at all amused.

“I don’t mean to disturb you, sir,” he began, “as you are  _ clearly _ a man of at least some means and  _ exceptional  _ taste, and I’m just some young elf. I know it’s typically my way to give you what you need and skedaddle, but I’ve been running into a… ... _ problem. _ ”

“Mighty talkative,” the man had spat, “for a  _ whore. _ ”

But Taako had been undeterred, smiling his Fantasy Crest white smile with the imperfect gap in the teeth and sidling up as sweetly as he ever had. “Let’s not play  _ that _ game, hm? I always thought you  _ liked _ pillow talk! Anyway, I’ll only be a minute. Have I not been… ...satisfactory in some way?”

“What the fuck are you  _ talking _ about?”

“My fee,” Taako said flatly, unfolding his palm to reveal the copper pieces. “Look, I know I’m a  _ cheap _ fuck, but I’m not  _ that _ cheap. You always  _ seem _ pleased as punch to see me, but listen, it wouldn’t be the first time Taako’s misread a situation.”

“I don’t know what you’re  _ playing _ at. I paid you in  _ gold, _ same as always.”

“Look, I’m a lot of things,” Taako continued to insist, tongue sharp. “I’m not an  _ idiot, _ though, last I fuckin’ checked. Does this  _ look _ like gold to you?”

“It  _ looks _ like a ploy to get more money than your worth.”

That’s when the dagger had come out, sharp and glistening. That’s when Taako had done what he always did, had tapped into that instinct and started to bolt like the hounds of hell were after him, as the man tore through the crowd in search of him. That’s when he’d gotten trapped in an alleyway, ready to be gutted like a fish, only to find his opponent’s weapon had turned into harmless foam.

That was his  _ first _ inkling that maybe this wasn’t some fluke accident.

He’d escaped with his life and soon decided that as lucrative as selling his body was, he couldn’t afford any more mishaps. So Taako turned again to food, only to find that it failed him, too. To his dismay, suddenly eggs were turning to carrots, beef was turning to jelly, cauliflower was turning into flour and sugar into salt. He tried hard to contain it, got smacked around  _ mightily _ for it by lots of men who thought they were so big and so tough, and eventually abandoned making food for other people altogether.

This, he decided, was a skill he needed to hone. Not to  _ fear. _

So he started to concentrate. The easiest, at first, were metals and different rocks. Gravel to glass to sand, copper to silver to gold and back again. If he could count on himself to manufacture gold at a consistent rate, then maybe he wouldn’t have to work  _ at all, _ but unfortunately, he couldn’t get a good enough handle on it. Sometimes he got his grimy fingers on just enough to purchase food, which he then tried to turn into  _ other _ food. He starved more in these months of learning than he ever remembered starving before, and he’d gone without his fair share of food and shelter already in his life. But nothing mattered more than perfecting this craft.

Taako didn’t know where it came from; hell, he didn’t know why his sister shot flames from her hands, either, and he didn’t fucking care. All he knew was that there was a way to make money at doing it, and that was all he needed to know to get  _ excellent _ at it, soon transmuting food with relative and unbelievable ease. 

He hit the streets  _ again, _ this time as a busker. Crowds watched in awe as he juggled eggs and then turned them all into oranges, watched as water became wine, as pheasant became pageantry. They applauded him at first, even “ _ ooh _ ed” and “ _ ah _ ed” as he dazzled their imaginations, dicing carrots in the air only for sliced yams to be what came back down, and commanding something of a stage presence. He gathered followings of interested and excited people, slipping his way onto subways and making his home in little street corners.

And then one day, he met Sazed.

“You’re one of those mutants, aren’t you,” he’d said, voice smooth and face beautiful.

“One of those what?” Taako had never heard the term before.

“No one’s ever called you that before?” The man seemed surprised. He was older enough than Taako to seem to know what he was doing, practically an adult, and just a quick glance at the man told Taako he wasn’t your typical average Joe out on the street. His outfit  _ screamed _ class; he’d dropped several genuine gold pieces into Taako’s hat, and his smile was charming.

“Uh… ...nope. Not last I checked.”

“I imagine it’s because they think you’re doing some sort of parlor trick,” he mused. “Which, well… ...your act is amusing as a magician, I’ll admit. But I know enough to know this is not some trick of the eye, some sleight of hand. This is  _ natural _ for you, isn’t it?”

For a fleeting second, the image of his sister being cornered flashed through Taako’s mind, and he almost ran. Almost turned tail and  _ bolted, _ got as far away from this man as he could possibly be, convinced that this was some elaborate ploy to corner him and cart him away, too. But he stood his ground, instead. As he fought the instincts, his ears pulled back, wary. “What’s it to  _ you? _ ”

“Ah, so you  _ do _ know enough to be wary,” Sazed had said. “That’s good. But you have nothing to fear from me, young elf. There are those who will see these gifts of yours in this world and be afraid,  _ viciously _ so, but I’m only amazed. Talents like yours could go so far in the right hands and with the right guidance.”

“Talents?” Taako had never heard someone say it outright like that before.

Hell, no one had  _ believed _ in him that much before.

But that was back then.

Now looked a lot different.

“Well,” Sazed says, voice laced with venom as he  _ pulls _ Taako back to the present. “You’ve gone and  _ fucked _ us, Taako. We’re  _ fucked. _ Are you even  _ listening  _ to me?”

This is enough to jar Taako out of his reverie, and he shakes his head a little, still dazed with everything. “Huh?”

“No, of course you aren’t,” snarls the adult. “That’s why we’re in this predicament in the  _ first _ place. We’re  _ fucked, _ you’ve  _ fucked _ us, and now we’ve got to go as far off the grid as possible. Help me pack, please. Why am I the only one ever with any sense? Fuck me.”

“No, no, I got you,” Taako repeats, his own voice sounding far away. “Just--did you see the look in their  _ eyes _ when they--” He almost doubles over with nausea. “Sazed, my  _ powers _ did that--I don’t know what I did wrong--the garlic… ...the elderberries--”

“Focus,” Sazed says, grabbing the boy a little rough by the shoulders. “Please, for once in your life, Taako. We’ve got to  _ focus. _ I’ve rented us a car. We’re going to go far, far away. And then you’re never going to use those--those  _ powers _ of yours again, are we clear?”

“Crystal,” Taako murmurs, fiddling with a coin in his hand.

“Good. And let me see that,” Sazed barks, prying Taako’s hand open. “You’re an unreliable  _ mess. _ This is a copper piece.”

“Yeah? So what?”

“So we’ve stopped  _ accepting _ copper pieces. Look--this stupid magical hokey-pokey nonsense is what got us into this mess in the  _ first _ place.” He snatches the coin from Taako’s hand, and Taako barely responds.

The next thing he knows, they’re in a car. Sazed’s driving, looking as cool and calm as possible, if not beside himself with rage on the inside. Taako’s staring numbly and dumbly out the window, trying not to think about anything in particular. “Maybe they’re right, you know, Taako?”

“About what?” He watches scenery go by and feels no attachment to it.

“The vaccination. You mutants--you’re too  _ dangerous, _ I think.”

This barely registers with Taako, and he feels hollow and sick. “You told me I was  _ special. _ ”

“That was before you  _ murdered _ 40 people. You’re a  _ freak, _ Taako. I was wrong to ever encourage it.”

Taako feels numb and dazed as he instructs Sazed to pull over so he can puke with fear. He tries not to think about how the ground beneath him suddenly has candy stripes, moving back to the car and trying his hardest to keep it under control. “I--look, I had no  _ idea-- _ we’ve practiced that shit  _ so many times, _ Sazed. I didn’t--it wasn’t--it wasn’t supposed to  _ be _ like that.”

“You’re unreliable,” Sazed replied simply, keeping his eyes on the road. “That’s why, when we get far enough away, I’ve arranged for you to get that vaccination they’re all talking about.”

“You  _ what? _ ”

“Taako, we need to convince people you’re not a threat. The only way to do that is to rid yourself of these powers of yours for good.”

He’s quiet, watching the scenery zip by.

“When’s the appointment?”

The sooner they get there, the better.

Taako can't help but feel a tremendous aching loss anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man, i don't feel good about my writing At All lately.
> 
> OH WELL, TAKE THIS ANYWAY. I LOVE YOU ALL.

**Author's Note:**

> i am... so sorry. that i can't stop thinking of TAZ AUs. you can vaguely blame "PoW!" by FEMM for this one, because i just barely put it on my Lup playlist and it gave me some Ideas. i promise, though i am a TAZ AU juggler, i will try so hard not to truly neglect or abandon anything. i just can't ever stop thinking of nonsense. hope you enjoy it, though. thanks for the reading and support, as always. <3 means so much to me.


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